Utah Considering Plan To Make 12th Grade… Optional
Is it any wonder we have an education problem?
The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade…
…Buttars has since toned down the idea, suggesting instead that senior year become optional for students who complete their required credits early. He estimated the move could save up to $60 million, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
This proposal strikes me as odd, especially coming from a group that constantly uses Think about the children mantra along with their critiques on the problems with public education. My first thought when reading this was… if children have completed their required classes by Junior year why not up the requirements?
And while I don’t dispute “Senorits” exists, I do question the priorities. It’s as if we’re willing to sacrifice the future generation for the present generation. God forbid we raise taxes when we could simply lower the education bar to save money. I’ll say it again, if Senior year is considered a waste of time why not add value?
That said, given we’re living in a time when a degree from Harvard or Stanford is something to sneer at I can’t say I’m surprised by this proposal. Although I am having trouble reconciling the Right’s disdain for intelleckchewals with their I’m proud of my Honor Student bumper stickers. There’s a big disconnect here, and I have to wonder what message their children are receiving. Mixed? Study hard, but getting into Harvard sucks?
It just seems to me that instead of promoting a way to get kids to ditch school our efforts would be better spent in finding ways to make Senior year really matter. As my Conservative friends like to say, the children are our future – not that they walk the talk when it comes to valuing intelligence or science, but it does fit ever-so-nicely on a bumper sticker.
Tags: Education
I wonder how the Senators plan would affect drop-out rates?
Well… they could start calling drop-outs early graduates and declare an educational victory in reducing the drop-out rate. 🙂
Well… they could start calling drop-outs early graduates and declare an educational victory in reducing the drop-out rate
They could call it the “Palin Diploma.”
“Hey dude, are you gonna finish senior year, or are you gonna take a Palin?”
Still, I see some merit here.
Imagine a situation where a student needs 24 credits to graduate, but a school year in which they take 8 classes for a possible 8 credits. By senior year, they have only a couple of required classes and a lot of electives or study hall periods. Why not give consideration to condensing the classes into a three year curriculum?
And if you think the scenario above sounds nuts, don’t be so sure. Ask anyone who teaches high school and you will find out that we do have a bunch of seniors with only 3 or 4 classes a day.
RWR, sure but are we ready to have an onslaught of 17 and maybe even 16 year olds starting college?
There’s a lot to be said for the other things you learn in high school in terms of social interaction and maturity.
Yeah, but there is the problem of having kids spending half their day meandering in hallways or sitting in study hall. Or worse yet, coming and going from campus at will — with the liability for districts that an open campus entails.
It may be that we need to cut the day to 7 periods, lengthen those periods, and beef up the graduation requirements. But absent that, having high school serve as a holding tank while kids mature and socialize is a bad investment of scarce educational resources.